MaestroJr

Love that they are doing this, would be nice if they used some props from the ride. I hope we see a dark ride of its caliber return one day.

I bought a bolt from Son of Beast back in 2012, a prized possession of mine I regret not getting a piece from Vortex

2500 is my best, happened last week

The new KIMVRR cowboys and horse look pretty good though I wish they were animatronic, also The Racer paint job still has a little work to do. Not quite finished.

Glad to see The Racer get some love, park should be amazing this season

I’ve noticed that whenever I visited on a slow day it’s usually the Red Racer that is open. I was curious if there was a reason behind this or if I’m just crazy and it’s random?

Hello all, hope you are all doing well in these post-Covid times, I had the opportunity to go up to the Island of Kings last week for the first time since 2019 and I didn’t miss the chance! I didn’t go to KI last year so I had not had the chance to ride Orion yet, but actually the first thing I rode when arriving to the park was the reworked Racer and it felt like stepping into a time capsule. I also love the old fashioned sign and logo on the trains. It was so smooth for The Racer and legit felt like a different ride than years past. Even in the back seat it felt smooth as butter, I was throughly impressed. With the slight Drizzle meant no lines, so I headed over to Orion admittedly a little nervous but excited beyond comprehension. I had long dreamed of riding this coaster. I rode middle of the pack and first off I really like the speedy lift hill. Makes for a quick flight up. The first drop was amazing as well as the next part where you are literally going sideways. The rest of the ride went by so fast that I had to ride it again and while I do think that I wish it was a bit longer I still really am glad we have a Giga. That first drop is amazing! Vortex not being there was so weird and I hope they give that spot a good replacement. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that Boo Blasters has most of its effects working and also I got a higher score than I think I ever have so my blasters were on point that day. Overall I had a great day and I look forward to many more! View of the former Vortex spot from The Beast train.

I bet Orion is slammed!

Anybody at the park today?

Hello fellow KI junkies, hope you all are doing well, I thought I’d just share some thoughts and photos from my recent trip to the Magic Kingdom back in January. I flew out of CVG and landed in Orlando at about 3 or so, I first went to Disney Springs and was definitely surprised at not only the lack of people there but one good piece of news is that everybody was following safety protocols and wearing masks which really put me at ease for the whole trip. After doing some shopping and eating at Disney Spings I packed up and went to the hotel for the evening excited for my Magic Kingdom trip the next day. I arrived via Lyft at the Magic Kingdom around 11 and planned to stay until about 10 that night. I took the monorail over to the actual park and after temperature check I was in! I rode Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion the most and the only differences due to Covid were the plexiglass that was in place in most of the queue lines, separation on boats and roller coasters of about two rows, plus on The Haunted Mansion, if your familiar with the Stretching Room, it was turned off and stretched to the top. For those unfamiliar with the room it is the preshow for the Haunted Mansion, essentially it’s a room that seems to stretch from bottom to top and reveal hidden portraits and things. A neat gag but Covid prevented the room from being used right now as you are tightly packed like sardines in there. So essentially you just walk through to the doom buggy loading area. The most I waited in line was 35 mins for Space Mountain, and overall crowds were small. Lines looked very long due to Covid restrictions like social distancing, but the waits were very minimal nonetheless. I rode everything I wanted to, and had brilliant weather. It was a great time if only it could have lasted longer. Also it was nice to see everyone having a good time even with mask wearing and other such things required. Overall though I had a wonderful time at the happiest place on Earth! Final ride count Pirates of the Caribbean- 4 rides Haunted Mansion-5 rides Peter Pans Flight-1 ride Space Mountain- 1 ride Splash Mountain-1 ride Big Thunder Mountain-1 ride This is the Haunted Mansion graveyard scene just FYI.

Wish we could see a photo from the ground standing next to it I love those photos when a ride is being torn down but some of it is still standing. Vortex looks way different with no loops.

Kind of a random question, it appears as though the KI gold pass is $118.00 but the season pass is $122.00. Why would you ever buy a season pass when a gold pass is cheaper and gives you free parking but the season pass does not? Am i reading this wrong? If that is the case, Im not sure why the season pass is even there as it isnt a deal at all.

Imagine if somebody came to the park with $20k the day of the event in cash and was like “yeah I’d like to ride Orion now, will this cover it?”

I got 10 rides on Mystic Timbers during the charity event in 2017, I think anyone will defiantly get their Orion fix that night.

Not to mention the various Corkscrew models across the country, plus many of the Disney rides are Arrow built.

Strange, Firehawk’s loop came down a year ago today, but we have yet to see a picture of Vortex’s demolition.

Wonder what the progress is thus far

You know what I mean, city, team, it’s nice to see local things outside of the theme park world honor the Island. Just like Sam Wyche saying “I’m going to Kings Island.”

Very cool to see the city honor local landmarks such as The Beast.

I had a great 2019 season! I visited Disney World, Carowinds, Dollywood, Cedar Point, Kentucky Kingdom, as well as 16 Kings Island visits, the most I’ve done in one season. 2020 will be great but 2019 was fantastic, I had never been to Cedar Point or Carowinds but now defiantly look forward to going back.

Yes I did get to see the parade, very well done. I rode near the back of Afterburn,I think it’s more disorienting than Banshee but I feel more intense weightlessness on Banshee.

Hi all hope your doing well, I’m down in Charlotte to see Kentucky play in the Belk bowl and took a quick pit stop to Carowinds. Arrived at about 630 and got to do plenty. First off rode Boo Blasters, I think it’s superior to ours, plus the guns still make sound effects, decent as usual then I headed over to Afterburn.About what I figured it would be. It felt similar to Banshee but not as intense. Very disorienting coaster though, fun ride! I also got another ride on Boo Blasters and noticed that they have removed Boocifer from the organ playing scene. Not really sure why. We then headed over to Ricochet, a long line but a fun little coaster. Finally, I headed to see if the line for Copperhead strike was shorter, being that it was 1 hour before I was surprised to see it be only 15 minutes! The park was almost closed and this point so I was very lucky to board one of the final trains and man was it crazy! Straight out of the station it begins, going upside down and then into a scene similar to Mystic Timbers. Then, launching into a loop and feeling like your gonna fall outta your seat is a crazy feeling. Copperhead strike might just be my new favorite coaster, it really had it all! Overall solid night of coasters at Carowinds!

It is crazy to realize that this will be the only time Vortex and Orion will be in the same picture together.

Yes it is indeed now Urgent Scare, it used to be Spongebob 3D, Days of Thunder, and James Bond: License to Thrill.

It is nice to have Mystic Timbers open, but it was really cool to have Flight of Fear open as well last year. I suspect next year we’ll have both again but that was a pretty solid coaster duo to hold you over till a April.